Thursday, October 28, 2010

Dying Pays

This year, I am told HICT will not celebrate Halloween – what a disappointment! Yet, at Sunway University College – we have two Halloween events here! Things have indeed changed at HELP International College of Technology…

Why am I not surprised? The Auditor-General has criticized the abuse of the first economic stimulus package (ESP) funds, citing as example Mindef’s (Ministry of Defense) extravagance – RM300,000 spent on luxury items (Star, October 27, 2010, p N20). The upgrading of the VVIP (i.e. Very, Very Important Person) room at the Langkawi Naval Headquarters Region 3 (Mawilla 3) is making me red-faced because they saw the need to buy a set of chandeliers valued at RM10,000, home theater set at RM12,000, wallpaper at RM95,880, sofa set at RM13,000 and other indulgences. And in this same news report, the Defense Ministry, in reply, said the purchase of these items was in line with the stimulus package’s aim of upgrading equipment for the military. Can you believe this reply? How I wish I could line up these errant officials and get them to kneel down so that they can receive a bullet each in their heads. Real numbskulls, aren’t they?

And that’s not all! Other abuses and wastages of the ESP found in the said report include RM459,460 for decorative outdoor lighting for the Lumut Naval Base and RM144,118 to renovate an existing canteen that was in good condition with new White Horse tiles, plaster ceilings and cornices. And to think that the Defense Ministry was allocated RM250 million from the ESP for the purpose of restoring and maintaining military camps and quarters nationwide – but they saw fit to spend taxpayers’ money on superfluous knickknacks instead.

From the same newspaper (p W42), it was also reported that the King of Pop is 2010’s top-earning dead celebrity. To think that when MJ died on June 25 last year, he left behind a debt of $500 million (RM1.5 billion) – and this not only sparked a massive outpouring of grief around the world, but multitudes of fans opened their wallets and purses to let his estate earn $90 million (RM278 million) last year and ballooning to $275 million (RM851 million) this year. Yes, thanks to a lucrative catalog, hit film (This Is It concert movie) and album sales, MJ raked in more than the combined total of the other 12 celebrities on the list, according to Forbes magazine that is. This makes the prospect of dying so enticing and inviting, doesn’t it? Can somebody end my moneyless existence? Wait a second! I am not going to benefit, will I? Sigh. I will carry-on this inconsequential existence and I will continue blogging, sharing with my readers the vacant futility of my trifling life!